Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-15T13:12:30Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.
See what is here and what is missing
✓ Recording evidence
✓ Key & form
✓ Chart
✓ History
✓ Playing notes
✓ Practice plan
✓ Backing track
✓ Django recording
✓ Django solo study aid
✓ Illustration
✓ Sources
✓ Difficulty
Django's Recordings
Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.
1 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1937
Charleston, 21/4/37, OLA 1703-1,"Fremeaux FA 305, Classics 748, Affinity 1003, EMI 780671-2, Jazz Time 790560-2, Jazz Archives ZET 752, EMI 746 5012(Mistitled Swinging With Django), Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set)."," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelli (v), Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), Louis Vola (b)"
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A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
James P. Johnson composed The Charleston in 1923, with lyrics by Cecil Mack. It belongs to the dance and theatre culture of the twenties rather than being a Django composition. The inherited Django entry is dated 21 April 1937, matrix OLA 1703-1, and the Frémeaux discography credits Johnson. For a guitarist, the tune is an opportunity to separate a strong dance pulse from a syncopated melody: the accompaniment does not need to copy every offbeat.
Tune details
Music: James P. Johnson
Words: Cecil Mack
Source-attributed publication / composition: 1923
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; syncopation and dominant-chain accuracy
Melody & head
Listen for how the ensemble keeps time underneath the head's displaced accents.
Letting the syncopation pull the rhythm section off its underlying pulse.
Listen for how the ensemble keeps time underneath the head's displaced accents.
Session evidence
Charleston, 21/4/37, OLA 1703-1,"Fremeaux FA 305, Classics 748, Affinity 1003, EMI 780671-2, Jazz Time 790560-2, Jazz Archives ZET 752, EMI 746 5012(Mistitled Swinging With Django), Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set)."," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelli (v), Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), Louis Vola (b)"
The B-flat study chart uses a chain of dominants, including D7–G7–C7–F7, and visits the E-flat area. Follow the thirds through that chain to hear where each chord is heading. The rhythm supplies much of the identity, so harmony alone is not enough to recognize the tune. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
The B-flat study chart uses a chain of dominants, including D7–G7–C7–F7, and visits the E-flat area. Follow the thirds through that chain to hear where each chord is heading. The rhythm supplies much of the identity, so harmony alone is not enough to recognize the tune.
Inherited chart retained as a study source. The tune is Johnson's Charleston, not a video merely filmed in the city of Charleston.
THIS SOLO HAS THE COOLEST DJANGO GUITAR TRICKS! (charleston solo)
Christiaan van Hemert
source-described; accuracy not independently verified
Creator presents a study of Django’s recorded solo. Use it alongside the original recording; exact transcription accuracy has not been independently reviewed.
F♯ on D7, B on G7, E on C7 and A on F7 trace the chain.
D identifies the B♭ tonic; E♭ marks the subdominant area.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Clap the melody's rhythm over a metronome before playing pitches. Then play only the thirds of the dominant chain and reconnect them to the melody.
Comping & voicings
Keep steady, light quarter notes while the melody supplies the Charleston accents. Try the characteristic syncopated rhythm only as a deliberate variation, not as an unchanging accompaniment pattern.
Voicing note sets
B♭6: B♭–D–F–G.
G7: G–B–F; C7: C–E–B♭; F7: F–A–E♭.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Letting the syncopation pull the rhythm section off its underlying pulse.
Practice room
Start at 100–120; explore 170–200 bpm
Your assignment
Clap the melody's rhythm over a metronome before playing pitches. Then play only the thirds of the dominant chain and reconnect them to the melody.
Loop these changes
D7 → G7 → C7 → F7
F7 → B♭
Metronome
Count quarter notes first. Then place the click on beats 2 and 4 at half the click rate, keeping the phrase length unchanged.
Transposition
Move one short cadence to a nearby key by naming its chord tones, then return to the chosen study key.
At the session
B♭ major (inherited chart); 32-bar study chorus; four eight-bar phrases. Agree the arrangement, pickup and ending before counting in.
Start together
Count a clear tempo and use the final cadence of the agreed arrangement.
Finish together
Cue the final tonic together; agree any tag before starting.
Letting the syncopation pull the rhythm section off its underlying pulse.
Letting the syncopation pull the rhythm section off its underlying pulse.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. B♭6: B♭–D–F–G.
Trio or larger group
Keep steady, light quarter notes while the melody supplies the Charleston accents. Try the characteristic syncopated rhythm only as a deliberate variation, not as an unchanging accompaniment pattern.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-15; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Create one original Djangopedia tune-guide illustration for Charleston. Landscape 1536x1024, 3:2. Playful mid-century modern print with broad 1930s–1950s jazz and Art Deco influences, angular geometric characters, confident navy outlines, flat warm cream, mustard yellow, warm red and turquoise, subtle paper grain. Two lively dancers doing an exuberant Charleston kick, fully visible heads and feet, asymmetrical rhythmic geometric floor, small stylized guitar and double-bass silhouettes behind. Joyful syncopation, balanced negative space, distinctive original composition, not a historical documentary scene. No words, letters, logos or watermark. Do not imitate any particular artist or existing artwork.
Research & rights notes
Exact original published key and take identity of the existing listening upload remain unconfirmed.
Original composition/recording rights not independently cleared. Video metadata and musical suitability are separate checks.
Charleston - Jérémy Dutheil / Solal Poux / Mathieu ChatelainJérémy DutheilVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
Rocky Gresset & Mathieu Chatelain :: "Charleston"keefboofVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video
